At a recent private breakfast debate in Utrecht, 19 partners from leading Dutch accounting and tax firms came together to discuss one of the profession's most persistent questions: how do firms move beyond the billable hour? The conversation was inspired by Ravical's latest research into the advisory gap between accountants and SME clients. While AI, advisory services and value-based pricing all featured prominently, the morning ultimately centred on something deeper: the mindset shifts required before firms can successfully change how they create and capture value.
Joris Van Der Gucht, Co-founder and CEO Ravical
One story from the discussion quickly became the defining moment of the event. A partner described a conversation with his CFO about value-based pricing. Pointing to the CFO's BMW, he asked whether he ever thought about how many hours it took to build. Of course not. And neither, he argued, do clients when they evaluate the value of professional advice. The point resonated throughout the room. The challenge is not simply changing invoices or pricing structures. As several participants noted, the billable hour is not merely a pricing model; it is a way of thinking. As long as firms continue to calculate value through the lens of hours worked, true value-based pricing remains difficult to achieve.
Ahead of the event, Ravical surveyed Dutch SME decision-makers to better understand their expectations of accounting firms. The findings suggested that demand for broader advisory services already exists. Many respondents indicated they wanted more support from their accountant, while a significant proportion described their current relationship as largely reactive. The discussion therefore shifted from whether advisory is the future to how firms can make it operationally viable. Participants explored the role of AI, the scalability of expert knowledge and the organisational changes required to deliver advice more proactively. By the end of the morning, there was broad agreement that the profession is moving in this direction. The remaining question is what firms need to change internally to make that future a reality.
